Aomori, Japan

This afternoon we were ported at Aomori. This is a northern Japanese city (they get an average of 25 feet of snow a year). Aomori is a purely modern city—it was heavily bombed in 1945. We spent the afternoon in a nearby city, Hirosaki.

We started out at a Tsugaru Province cultural center where they played traditional drums and a lute-like instrument, called a sanshin, that apparently is sometimes covered in dog skin (according to our guide…a pamphlet said that they’re covered in snakeskin). They use a large pic to play the sanshin (think small ice scraper size and shape), using it to pluck the 3 strings and to tap the body of the instrument. They had examples of lanterns and floats used during the Hirosaki Neputa and Aormori Nebuta festivals (which started tonight and run for a week). There also were local artisans demonstrating local pottery, embroidery, wooden toys and dolls, and lacquerware. They also had a Yokien style garden with very hungry koi. This area of Japan is known for growing apples so there were many different products made of apples, including an odd apple vinegar drink that I tried (but did not buy a bottle of).

We then went to the Hirosaki Castle, This was originally built in the early 1600s. One of the main towers burned down after a lightning strike shortly after completion. The current castle tower was built in the early 1800s. It is being renovated (so we couldn’t go inside of it) and will then be moved intact to a different location on the grounds. Seriously, they are going to prop the entire building up 30 cm and move it about 100 yards. They plan on the move taking 3 months to complete. The castle grounds include multiple moats, bridges, and gates. There is an arboretum and they have the oldest Somei Yoshino Cherry tree in Japan, 130 years old.

From there we returned to the boat for a quick dinner and then headed out to Aomori. Tonight was the start of the Aomori Nebuta festival. They had about 20 lighted floats (mostly traditional designs but there were a set of Star Wars floats) out for display, along with music, dancing, and food. The area was packed with locals and a few other cruise visitors. The floats were elaborate: they appear to be made of painted paper over metal frames. They apparently will be having a parade of these floats later in the week. It was a fun atmosphere.

Tomorrow we are at sea so I may not have anything to update you on.